Pakistani man kills newborn daughter with 5 bullets
Authorities in Pakistan have arrested a father on suspicion of shooting dead his seven-day-old daughter because he wanted his first child to be a boy, in a case that has sparked outrage in the country, according to the Daily Mail.
A newborn girl named Jannat - meaning "heaven" in Urdu - was shot five times on Monday inside her home in the central city of Mianwali, police said.
Dawn newspaper reported that the suspect, Shahzeeb Khan, entered his home and ordered his wife to hand over Jannat before shooting the little girl.
Police said Shahzeeb, who had been married for two years, subsequently fled the scene but was arrested on Thursday in a nearby neighbourhood.
In some parts of Pakistan, tribal customs mean that young girls can be seen as an affront to manhood.
The girl's uncle, Hidayatullah Khan, filed a formal complaint against the man for the murder.
"A girl was born... He was angry," Hidayatullah said, referring to the father.
The family relative explained that Shahzeeb did not return to the family home after discovering that his wife had given birth to a child and refused to accept her.
Hedayatullah then indicated that the suspect entered the family home where relatives had gathered and ordered his wife to hand Jannat over to him.
He continued, "The suspect took the girl in his arms and shot her dead."
Hedayatullah claimed that he tried to take the child away from Shahzeeb but that Shahzeeb pointed a gun at him and other relatives and threatened to shoot them if they approached him.
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